Soul Chains

Chapter 13: Rewritten Promises

"Gabriel, don't be stupid," the brunette girl in front of me laughs, bending over and holding her sides as we stand in the field of goldenrods.

"I'm not," I laugh, "I was just being honest."

"Yeah, well--" she pauses when she hears shouting in the distance and we both turn to look at a familiar lavender haired boy running towards us, waving his arms around frantically.

"Go!" he shouts, "run! Get out!"

"Dimitri, what?" the brunette frowns, her eyes filling with worry.

"Get out of the field! Now!" Dimitri insists, his voice desperate as he waves us over.

The two of us turn when we hear the sound of horses' hooves heavily hitting the ground and the brunette gasps in fright as she sees riders raising their bows and arrows, the tips of the arrows burning with bright flames.

"Run!" I shout and grab on to her arm, taking her along with me as I sprint towards Dimitri.

The two of us stumble to the town gate where Dimitri's waiting and he takes off in a run once we're close. We hurriedly follow him home, the sound of horses still behind us and the screams of villagers echoing throughout the air as they stampede through town and set many buildings and structures ablaze. The three of us manage to safely get to the courtyard to find it full of assailants attacking villagers and soldiers.

"Elespeth!" Dimitri shouts when he sees her standing outside their front door, "get back inside!"

"I refuse to do nothing!" Elespeth shouts back.

"Elespeth!" Dimitri shouts again, summoning his broadsword, "get inside!"

Multiple enemies in the courtyard begin to yell and stumble around aimlessly as Elespeth stands there, her red eyes faintly glowing as she watches the scene before her. Many of the enemies drop their weapons to hold their heads and some of them glare in Elespeth's direction.

"Kill that pest!" one of the enemy guards shouts.

"Elespeth!" the brunette shouts from next to me, "hurry! Go inside!"

Dimitri yells and continues racing towards Elespeth, slashing through enemies and sliding under one's legs to swirl around and stab him in the chest before kicking him off of his blade, dropping him to the ground. Dimitri turns around just in time as an enemy struggles to move around and accidentally lets go of their bow string.

"Elespeth!" Dimitri screams as he stabs his sword through the back of the enemy who released their arrow, pulling it out of them and tossing them to the side as the brunette hurriedly runs towards Elespeth in what feels like slow motion.

Elespeth turns to the side just in time to see the arrow flying towards her and she gasps, her red eyes going wide as the arrow shoots directly into her chest while Dimitri and the brunette cry out at once, both running towards their injured younger sister.

"Reine!" I scream.

I jolt awake in bed, breathing heavily as my eyes frantically search the room. I shakily climb out of bed and briskly walk over to the door, not caring if anyone else is awake and notices. I walk down the hallway until I reach Reine's room and I push the door open, walking in and going over to her to find her sitting on her bed, scrolling through what reminds me of an iPad.

"Gabriel?" her eyes widen and her breath hitches as I crawl on to her bed and pull her into a swift hug, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"Gabriel..." she breathes out, her eyes softening and her shoulders relaxing.

"I don't...I may not remember everything that happened...but I...I remember Dimitri and Elespeth...and I don't...I don't know how I know these things or who I used to be, but...I'm so sorry, Reine," I say, resting my head on her shoulder and squeezing her even tighter.

"You saw her death, didn't you?" Reine whispers quietly.

"Yeah," I swallow thickly, "I did. Who...what was she like?"

"Elespeth was six when she died and our village was attacked," Reine starts after a brief pause, "I was ten, and Dimitri was sixteen. He blamed himself for not taking better care of her. I did too, but I knew there was nothing else we could have done. We couldn't reach her in time. Elespeth's gift was Anguish, so she was able to cause any sort of physical or emotional pain that she wished upon someone for a brief amount of time. She couldn't really control it back then...so she just...did what she thought felt right and it ended up making her a target. She was always happy and cheerful, wanting to help other people. She didn't deserve it. She was six, for crying out loud. But people don't care. People don't care if the ones they slay are kind, are wise, are innocent, are loving, have a family and loved ones, deserve to live, are destined for greatness, are young, are old. They don't care. They just mindlessly kill. It's...unfortunate and tragic. It's...inhumane. And it's not fair. It's not fair at all."

"I'm so sorry, Reine..." I breathe out.

I pull back away from her so that I can look her in the eyes and she smiles sadly.

"It's not your fault," she says, "you did all you could, anyway. You might not know it, but you did."

"No matter what happens, I promise I'll always be there for you, Reine," I say firmly and her breath hitches, tears welling up in her eyes.

She pulls me back into a hug and buries her face in my shoulder, silently crying as tears stream down her face and soak my t-shirt, but I don't mind. I don't mind at all.